Reviewing young adult, new adult, and romance since 2013.

Top Ten Tuesday: Series I don’t plan to finish

Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Today’s theme is ten series I’ve given up on or don’t plan to finish, which was submitted by A Book and a Cup. When it comes to series, I tend to either be all in or I abandon them after the first book. Down below I have ten series that I don’t intend to finish, either because I lost interest or because it’s just been too long since I read the first book.

Louisa Clark is an ordinary young woman living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair-bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A love story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

I actually really enjoyed Me Before You, but I felt like the story wrapped up nicely and I didn’t feel any burning desire to finish the series.

In a broken landscape carved by environmental collapse, Boston paramedic Cacia Ferry risks life and limb on the front lines of a fragile and dangerous city. What most don’t know—including her sexy new partner, Eli Margolis—is that while Cacy works to save lives, she has another job ferrying the dead to the Afterlife. Once humans are “Marked” by Fate, the powerful Ferrys are called to escort the vulnerable souls to either eternal bliss or unending fire and pain.

Unaware of Cacy’s other life, Eli finds himself as mesmerized by his fierce and beautiful partner as he is mistrustful of the influential Ferry clan led by the Charon—who happens to be Cacy’s father. Cacy, in turn, can no longer deny her intense attraction to the mysterious ex-Ranger with a haunted past. But just as their relationship heats up, an apparent hit takes the Charon before his time. Shaken to the core, Cacy pursues the rogue element who has seized the reins of Fate, only to discover that Eli has a devastating secret of his own. Not knowing whom to trust, what will Cacy have to sacrifice to protect Eli—and to make sure humanity’s future is secure?

In 1963, 13-year-old Sam Callahan and his tart-tongued, divorced, misbehaving mother, Lydia, must cope as best they can after they are banished to the hicktown of GroVont, Wyoming, by Lydia’s Southern gentleman father.

I actually own the next book in this series, but I don’t know if I really want to read it. This book is fine (I didn’t love it, but it’s fine) but it’s another one that I feel doesn’t really need to be continued.

“I won’t tell anyone, Echo. I promise.” Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. “You didn’t do that-did you? It was done to you?” No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other…and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again…

It seems like everybody loves this book, but I just didn’t. I was really disappointed by a lot of what happened and I really never want to read another book in this series. (I would happily try something else by Katie McGarry, though, because her new books sound really good!)

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper’s destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can’t get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she’s charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper’s least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David’s own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y’all beg for more.

I actually really loved this book, but I’ve heard really mixed reviews about the rest of the series. I think it’s best to end this one on a high note.

When Kate Pierce-Keller’s grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is delusional. But it all becomes horrifyingly real when a murder in the past destroys the foundation of Kate’s present-day life. Suddenly, that medallion is the only thing protecting Kate from blinking out of existence.

Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and Kate’s genetic ability to time-travel makes her the only one who can stop him. Risking everything, she travels to the Chicago World’s Fair to try to prevent the killing and the chain of events that follows.

Changing the timeline comes with a personal cost, however—if Kate succeeds, the boy she loves will have no memory of her existence. And regardless of her motives, does she have the right to manipulate the fate of the entire world?

The first book in this series was fine, and I had the second on my next-up shelf on Goodreads for probably a good two years before I finally gave up and realized that I was never going to read it. Now I hardly even remember what the first book was about, so I’m definitely not continuing with the series.

Cool, calm and competent, events planner Paige Walker loves a challenge. After a childhood spent in and out of hospitals, she’s now determined to prove herself—and where better to take the world by storm than in the exhilarating bustle of Manhattan? But when Paige is let go from the job she loves, she must face her biggest challenge of all—going it alone.

Except launching her own events company is nothing compared to hiding her outrageous crush on Jake Romano—her brother’s best friend, New York’s most in-demand date, and the only man to break her heart. When Jake offers Paige’s fledgling company a big chance, their still-sizzling chemistry starts giving her sleepless nights. But can she convince the man who trusts no one to take a chance on forever?

Friends-to-lovers is my favorite but I didn’t really enjoy this book. I found the ending particularly disappointing and it really ruined any chance of me reading the next book.

As a teenager, Seth O’Connor went to jail for a crime he had nothing to do with. He took the fall to protect the girl he loved, but the cruel realities of prison hardened him. After doing his time, Seth shuts her out and enlists in the Marines—until his grandmother’s funeral forces him to come home and face Rowan Simmons once again. The woman she’s become puts all his high-school memories to shame, and Seth wants her more than ever. Can he be honest about why he denied her for so long?

After Seth pushed her away, Rowan swore that no man would ever hurt her again. But the boy who broke her heart has become a sexy Marine, capable of fulfilling her every desire—and now that he’s back in town, old feelings are simmering to a boil. Rowan wants to stay strong, even as her body surrenders to his expert touch. She only hopes that by taking him back, she can finally help heal the wounds that drove them apart.

There are a lot of books by Marquita Valentine that I’ve really enjoyed, but not this one. Better to stick with a series I enjoy than try to force myself to finish this one.

The Carolina Cold Fury hockey team is stacked with hotshots. But when a new player joins their ranks, he learns that even superstars can’t go it alone when it comes to love.

Lucas Fournier is only serious about one thing: hockey. The league’s fun-loving charmer, Luc is always up for a good prank or a great lay, and he has no intention of settling down. But being traded to the Carolina Cold Fury—and to play alongside his big brother, Max—is no joke. With another title in sight, the last thing Luc wants is to let his new teammates down. To succeed, Luc will need to keep his head in the game and the most . . . er, demanding member of his anatomy in check. But when temptation hits, Luc hits back harder.

Museum curator Stephanie Frazier has always put business before pleasure, which just about explains her nonexistent sex life. But when Stephanie meets Luc at a champagne-fueled gala, she finds herself flirting like crazy—and going home with the uninhibited athlete. For one night, she learns what passion is all about. She just never counted on the little surprise Luc leaves behind. And that’s when things really start to get . . . interesting.

Honestly, I don’t really love sports romances so I don’t know why I keep trying to read them. I actually really loved Lucas as a character, but I didn’t love this book. (Stephanie was exhausting.) There are a million books in this series and I think I’ll stay away.

The last thing I remember is having drinks at Brady’s and trying to avoid eye-contact with my life-long crush—the gorgeous, unattainable Maximilian Hallowell. They tell me that was a year ago, but I have no memories of anything since then. What I do have is this ring on my finger that Max says he gave me, and this much-thinner body I’ve dreamed of most of my life. Aside from a case of retrograde amnesia, everything seems almost…perfect.

But the deeper I immerse myself into this new world of mine—planning a wedding to a man I don’t remember dating, attempting to run a business I don’t remember starting—the clearer it becomes that nothing is as it seems. Do I have the life I’ve always wanted or is it a facade propped up by secrets I don’t even know I have?

I need answers before I marry Max, and the only person who seems to have them is the angry, tatted, sexy-as-sin rocker Nate Crane. And Nate wants me for himself.

This book was… not great. I would sort of like to know what happens next, but not enough to keep reading the series.

Thanks! I think even if I wanted to read the next Rebel Belle book, at this point, it’s just been too long. And I haven’t read any of the Game of Thrones books but I don’t think I’m really interested in them either.

I totally get that about Rebel Belle. I checked out the sequel from the library a few months ago and I just couldn’t get myself to be interested in reading it so I had to return it when the time came up. And trust me, you probably aren’t missing much with Game of Thrones. I’d just watch the show and be done

I have a hard time starting series’ in the first place, but honestly if you’re not feeling a book I feel there’s no reason to continue. Like if a book is just okay then I don’t really have motivation to go on to the next book, and sometimes I feel guilty because I got this far, but at the same time there are so many books out there that you shouldn’t “waste” your time trying to get into one. I feel that way with Winter in the Lunar Chronicles, but we’ll see when/if I start feeling up to getting back into it 🙈

Yeah, I’m really bad about finishing series if I didn’t absolutely adore the first book. I have a thing about DNFing books but I have no problem stopping a series in the middle! Also, Winter was my least favorite of the Lunar Chronicles books, so I totally get that.

Ahaha, no worries! I’ve avoided both. I was spoiled when the movie came out, and I knew I’d be a mess after reading it.

Outlander divides readers quite a bit. I would recommend it if you’re interested in historical romance, but it does contain a lot, and I mean a lot, of graphic scenes that offended people, so be prepared for them. The ending of the first book is extremely hard to get through, but I enjoyed reading the series though.

Me Before You is a great book and I think it was clearly written to be a stand-alone before it became so successful BUT as someone who has read all three (because I really like Jojo Moyes) I’d say the same thing about all of them. I think the 2nd and 3rd books could also be read as stand alones & I particularly enjoyed the 2nd one.

No more crying 🙂 I’m not going to lie – at the beginning of book 2 Louisa is not in the best place but the book is about her moving on so it is MUCH more uplifting then the first one. The 3rd book isn’t sad at all – it is about her finding herself which is nice to finally see 😀

I 100% agree about Pushing the Limits. I didn’t understand why so many people loved it, I did not. I didn’t make it past the first book. I read the 1&2 book in the Me Before You series. I liked the first book but really didn’t like the second book. There should not have been a second but I couldn’t believe there was a third!

I just don’t understand all the hype about Pushing the Limits! I’m glad we’re on the same page with that. I loved Me Before You but I’m afraid that I wouldn’t like the rest of the series. (I also can’t believe that it got expanded into a three-book series.)

Hmm, I haven’t read or heard about any of these series, but I’d been curious about Me Before You. From what you say about it, it sounds like a novel that was just good but not that special I guess? Maybe I should check out the movie first… 😛

I stayed up until like 2am reading Me Before You and when I finished, I was sobbing in my bed. It was so good but I felt like it was a complete story and there really wasn’t anywhere to go with a sequel. I don’t know if I could watch the movie because I’d probably just cry through the whole thing!

I haven’t read any of those books but I’ve heard a lot of bad things about me before you and Rebel Belle is in my tbr.

I don’t think I’ll be finishing Grisha trilogy, ACOTAR (I’m just not interested in later book since they’re gonna be about the character I hate), Meredith Gentry, Fallen Angels, Six Of Crows etc. I have so many series I’m not planning on finishing.

I don’t know if I’ll be finishing the Grisha trilogy either! I really liked the first book, but it’s been a couple years since I read it and now I’m not sure if it’s worth it to pick up the rest of the series. I didn’t love Six of Crows either, so I don’t think I’ll continue on with that series. I have the first ACOTAR book but I haven’t read it yet, but just based on reviews of the later books in the series, I don’t think I’ll probably finish that one either.